Nuclear Power Fundamentals is the essential course for those who are entering or working in the rejuvenated nuclear power industry. Nuclear power is having a renaissance due to a confluence of factors including global warming, the cost and supply reliability of oil, issues involving coal and greenhouse gases, and the safety record and superb operational performance of the country’s 104 nuclear units. Those factors and the improved political climate have resulted in many utilities filing applications for combined construction and operating licenses for new nuclear power plants. Understanding the technology and operations of a nuclear facility can assist employees and service providers, such as vendors, attorneys, and contractors, in comprehending the nuclear energy system.

This course will review the status of nuclear power in the US and the world, and the events and forces that have, and continue to influence the nuclear power industry to understand how we got to where we are today, including the long period of dormancy in the US nuclear power industry. Significant industry events will be discussed including Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Pressurized and boiling water reactor systems will be reviewed. The changes in both the political and environmental landscapes and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which are all critical to the nuclear renaissance will be addressed. Additional topics include the nuclear fuel cycle, the uranium enrichment and reprocessing controversies, radioactive wastes including spent nuclear fuel, the status of Yucca Mountain, spent fuel transportation, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s set of performance indicators demonstrating excellent operations. Lastly, to better understand how reactors generate power we will explore the nuclear force and binding energies and fissile vs. fertile nuclear materials. This course will help personnel involved in the nuclear energy industry to have a clear understanding of nuclear power and the challenges of tomorrow.

Topics include:

* Issues concerning the resurgence of
nuclear energy
* The history of nuclear power and its
development
* Nuclear events that impacted the nuclear
industry
* Energy Policy Act of 2005
* The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership
(GNEP)
* Designs and functions of PWRs and BWRs
* Generation III and IV reactor designs
* Nuclear power and the environment
* The nuclear fuel cycle and some nuclear
physics
* The future for nuclear power

The Early Bird price for this conference is USD $1,195.00. After June 12, 2009 the price will be USD $1,395.00.